Water-heater



(No Model.)

H. HAEBERLIN.

} WATER HEATER. No. 593,209. Patented Nov. 9, 1897..

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UNITED STATES PATENT much.

HERMANN HAEBERLIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

WATER-H EATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,209, dated November 9, 1897.

Application filed January 9, 1897. Serial No. 618,521. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN HAEBERLIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ater-Heaters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in water-heaters. Its objectis to increase the efficiency of the apparatus and the economy of its construction and operation; and it consists of the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as

hereinafter desoribed,and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents in central vertical section my improved waterheater. Fig. 2 is a section through the tube 13 on the line a: a; of Fig. 1, showing in plan view one of the deflecting spiral diaphragms and Fig. 3 is a detail showing one of the diaphragms in elevation.

In most water-heaters the heating of the water is sought to be effected by causing the water to drip or trickle in more or less finely divided streams from one shelf to another through ascending currents of hot air. In other cases the water is caused to pass through small tubes or troughs upon which the hot air impinges for more or less of the distance it has to traverse. In distinction from such methods I employ largely the heat of conduction and of surface absorption, and I reduce the dripping feature to a minimum.

In the drawings, A is the shell or body of the heater, which may be of sheet metal and has connected to it at its lower portion a gassupply pipe N, communicating with a gasburner D, preferably of circular form, as Into the top of the body A opens a tube 13 of considerably less diameter than the body A, for a purpose to be presently described. A water-supply pipe 0 enters the lower part of the shell A and extends up through the same and through tube 13, nearly to the top of the latter. A conical sleeve E is secured within the body A above the burner I), forming a water-chamber having the outlet-pipe a, and an inverted conical sleeve Gr its outer edge and extending from the bodywall of A to a diameter slightly less than the tube 13, and having at its upper part a short sleeve j, disposed annularly central of the lower end of the tube 13.

In the tube B are located diaphraglns H,

which are radially slit and centrally supported on the pipe 0 and extend peripherally almost to the inner surface of tube B and are of such number and as far apart as may be preferred. I consider it advisable, however, to employ at least three such diaphragms and to locate them at a distance apart nearly or quite equal to their own diameter; but this, as well as the number of the diaphragms H, admits of considerable variation without entirely sacrificing their efficiency. The separate wings h caused by slitting the periphery of the diaphragnis H, are each bent so as to stand at an angle with the central part of the disk, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, which leaves a series of spirally-inclined openings h between the wings h as seen in Fig. 3.

At the top of the pipe (3 is a cap 0, which is perforated with downwardly-inclined openin gs 0 through which the water rising through pipe C escapes and falls upon the uppermost ofthe spiral diaphragms H. The pipe 0 is also perforated with openings 0 at or just above the top of apron F, and a small apron 7c is preferably secured to the pipe just above the openings 0 as seen in Fig. 1.

The water which escapes from the cap (2 falls upon the upper diaphragms and flows to the lower edges of the wings 71 and along the same to the lower corner thereof, whence it is partly blown by the spiral ascending current of warm air againstthe wall of the tube B and flows down the same and in part drips from the edges of the wings 72. upon the diaphragm next below, where the same effect is repeated, and so on. In flowing down the tube B the water encounters the spiral current of heat thrown against it by the action of the diaphragm II and becomes quickly heated. On reaching the bottom of the part B the heated water falls upon the shelf Lwhich is heated by the passage along its under side of the heat rising around the apron F, and in passing down the shelf I the water becomes more highly heated and flows thence against the shell A and upon the flange G, by which it is discharged upon the hot sleeve E at its hottest part, directly above the burners, and in flowing in a thin sheet down this sleeve becomes heated to any desired degree and upon reaching the bottom escapes at the outlet Ct. The heat of the burners D beneath the sleeve E heats this very hot, so that the water, being already hot when it reaches the rim, takes up heat very rapidly and almost instantly reaches a very high temperature. On escaping through the rim E the heat is caught beneath the apron F and maintains the latter at a temperature nearly or quite equal to that of the sleeve E, and what heat escapes around the lower edge of F rises against and traverses along the under side of the shelf I, thereby heating the same before it enters the tube B .and passes through the diaphragms H, which it also heats, but to a lesser degree. I

By the construction above described all the heat is utilized, and it is caused to act so forcibly upon the cooler water during its spiral course through the part B that the partiallyheated water on reaching the hotter and more expanded parts in the lower part of the heater takes'up heat with such great rapidity as to permit the size of the apparatus to be materially reduced below that of other devices for the same purpose, which not only lessens the first cost of the heater, but enables it to be operated with less fuel.

Whatever water falls through the central opening of the shelf I falls upon the hot apron F, and falling from this upon G is thrown upon E, so that in traversing the two hot surfaces F and E it is heated to the same degree as that which traverses the walls of B, the result being that a continuous supply of highlyrheated water issues from the outlet a. The action of the sleeve G in conducting all of the water which passes through the device to the hottest part of the sleeve E serves the double purpose of greatly increasing the efliciency'of the device and preventing the sleeve E from being injured by the heat to which it is subjected. I g

The spiral course imparted by the diaphragms H to the heated air ascending through the tube B causes the hot air to im pinge upon and traverse the inner surface of the tube and the thin sheet of water flowing down the same, while at the same time it prolongs the distance which the hot air has to travel in passing through the tube B, and it intensifies both of these effects to have the tube B of considerably smaller diameter than the shell A, giving somewhat the effect of a hot blast. v

Inasmuch as the hot air rising through the heater -rapidly gives up its heat to the water and to the sleeve E, apron F, ring I, and diaphragms II, the heating effect steadily decreases toward the top of the apparatus, but the air has still considerable heat where it enters tube 13. B y the effect of the diaphragms II in changing the course of this heated air from a directly-vertical and centrally-tendin g current to a spiral and centrifugal course, not only prolonging its course, but causing it to blow against and follow along the inner surface of the tube 13, all of the heat is extracted from the air-and the air escaping from the top of the tube 13 is cold, which is not the case with any other water-heater with which I am acquainted. This effect is largely due to the spiral diaphragms, whichalso enable me to make the tube B and the whole apparatus lower and smaller than it otherwise could be.

The gas-pipe N has a valve N and a small branch at, which has a valve n and terminates in a nozzle of opposite a perforation in the shell A. The water-supply is controlled by a valve M. By opening valve n a small jet of gas can be lighted at the nozzle a and on then opening valves M and N the burner D will light at the instant the water begins to flow, thus preventing injury to the soldered joints and insuring that the first water which escapes will be hot. The valve 02 can then be closed.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell, a water-conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and having attached thereto a spiral diaphragm, said conduit being provided with dischargeopen- 'ings adapted to discharge water upon said diaphragm, and means for heating the water discharged upon said diaphragm, substan* tially as described.

2. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell, a flue of less diameter forming an extension of said shell, a water conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and flue and having attached there to spiral diaphragms, said conduit being pro vided with outlets adapted to discharge water upon the diaphragms, and means for heating the water discharged upon said diaphragms, substantially as described.

3. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell, a flue of smaller diameter forming an extension of said shell, a water pipe extending longitudinally through said shell and flue and having attached thereto spiral diaphragms which extend into proximity to the inner wall of said flue, said pipe being provided with outlets adapted to discharge water upon the diaphragms, and means for heating the water discharged upon said diaphragms, substantially as described.

4. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell having a combustionchamber, a water-conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and having attached thereto a spiral diaphragm, said conduit being provided with discharge-openings adapted to discharge water upon the diaphragm, means for heating the Water discharged upon said diaphragm, and means situated below the diaphragm for preventing the water distributed therefrom from entering the combustion-chamber, substantially as described.

5. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell, having a combustionchamber, a flue of less diameter forming an extension of said shell, a Water-conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and flue and having attached thereto spiral diaphragms, said conduit being provided with discharge-openin gs adapted to discharge Water upon the diaphragms, means for heating the water discharged upon said diaphragms, and means situated below the diaphragms for preventing the water distributed there from from entering the combustion-chamber, substantially as described.

6. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell, a water-conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and having attached thereto spiral diaphragms, said 1 conduit being provided with discharge-open ings adapted to discharge Water upon said diaphragms and with additional dischargeopenings above a downward-inclined apron attached to said conduit, and means for heating the water discharged upon said diaphragms and apron, substantially as described.

7. In a water-heater the combination of an outer casing or shell having a combustionchamber, a Water-conduit extending longitudinally through said shell and having attached thereto a spiral diaphragm and a downward-inclined apron above the combustionchamber, said conduit being provided with discharge-openings adapted to discharge water upon the diaphragm and with additional openings below the diaphragm adapted to discharge Water upon the apron, means for heating the Water discharged from said conduit, and means situated below the diaphragm for preventing the water distributed therefrom from entering the combustion-chamber, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

I-IERMANN HAEBERLIN.

\Vitnesscs:

1-1. B. CAVANAUGH, LoNN PRENTISS. 

